


The Burning Drawing

by RayhneATess



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: AU, F/M, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-24
Updated: 2017-10-05
Packaged: 2019-01-04 22:43:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12177945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RayhneATess/pseuds/RayhneATess
Summary: Summary: Lucy has three letters engraved on her left wrist, E.N.D., and they burn as it gets closer to the day when she will meet her soulmate. Natsu has been drawing a girl's face for years now, and is desperate to meet her. So when they bump into each other, is it everything they thought it would be, or is it a disappointment that makes them want to go their separate ways? (NaLu)





	1. Chapter 1

Lucy grimaced as she rubbed her thumb over the sore spot on her left wrist. It was burning more than usual, and she was concerned about what that meant. According to Levy, when it happened to her, the feeling — because she said it wasn’t a burn like Lucy’s was — intensified until it was nearly overwhelming, just up until the moment she finally ran into Gajeel.

Literally too. The short girl had run straight into the taller man, and the pain, she said, was unbearable for all of two-seconds before it was just gone. Her letters had been a simple  **G.R.** whereas Lucy’s were  **E.N.D.** She had no idea how to feel about having someone with initials that spelled out ‘end’ as her possible love. She was afraid, but excited, wanting to meet them sometime soon.

All of her friends had already found theirs, and it was making Lucy feel a little bit lonely because she was always the third wheel. She was standing near the stairs in the apartment complex foyer, waiting for Levy to come back. Her friend had gone to listen in on the presentation in the large ballroom they had, and she still hadn’t come back, even after nearly twenty minutes.

Lucy’s absentminded motions became more conscious as she sped up the rubbing, the burning having increased severely. She frowned at her wrist and dug her nails into the initials. Finally, deciding it was useless, she began to wave her hand frantically, as if shaking off the last of her writing cramps, although they were always on the other hand. “Fuck!”

Suddenly, a light hand closed around her wrist, holding her still, and she looked to see Levy standing there. “That bad huh?”

“It just  _hurts_ so bad.” Levy was holding her wrist so that she couldn’t flail it around and accidentally hit the new tenant in their apartment building. The shorter girl knew her parents would not appreciate getting a complaint like that from a new person, and since they owned the apartments, she figured it was better to keep Lucy out of harms way.

The young man walked up the stairs quickly, and Levy watched as his pink hair swayed slightly. She knew only his first name, and that he was new to town, knowing next to no one around. “I don’t see why you won’t just go talk to him.”

“Levy! How am I supposed to just go up to him? What should I say when he asks how I know his name, or apartment number? Sure he’s attractive, but I’m not just gonna  _throw_  myself at him.”

“No, but you were going to hit on him quite literally if I didn’t show up.” Lucy’s face opened in horror and Levy giggled. “Come on, let’s get you to your apartment,  _without_ hitting anyone.”

The two walked up the steps together, wandering down the hall until they reached Lucy’s flat. “Have fun with Gajeel tonight Levy!”

“I will! Have fun with… whatever it is you’re going to do.”

Lucy just chuckled, stepping into her apartment and closing the door behind her, sliding the lock in place.

—

“Yo, Gajeel!” The pink haired man shouted as he walked into his cousin’s apartment. “You got any paper?”

“Just got you a new sketchbook! It’s on the counter!” Natsu watched as his taller cousin came out of the bedroom, dressed in fancy clothing.

“Got a date?”

“Yup. When you gonna get one?” Gajeel jested, and Natsu frowned.

“Whenever I meet her.”

Gajeel laughed. “Yeah, I wanna see her, is it closer?” Natsu didn’t respond, just flipped open the sketchbook he held in his hands, revealing the most recent drawing to Gajeel. The girl smiling on the page was becoming more and more realistic and detailed as the months, days, and hours went by. It had been a year since he had begun to draw her realistically, and Gajeel was proud of his younger cousin.

She was obviously someone who was holding onto something, and her eyes looked warm, yet troubled. Her smile was certainly inviting, and Natsu had even drawn a small blush on the girl’s face. Her hair was tied up slightly, but still framed her face, and there were notes on the side. “Blonde hair? Brown eyes? Huh, looks like you’re getting closer to meeting her.”

“I hope so. I’m tired of feeling so…” Natsu couldn’t think of the right word and Gajeel nodded, understanding.

“All right. You got what you came for, now get out and go home.” Natsu laughed, turning and leaving his cousin’s apartment.

“Have fun on your date with Levy!”

“I will.” With a last shove out the door, Natsu had been shut out of the taller man’s apartment, not even realizing he had left his old sketchbook behind.

Gajeel ripped out the page he had been looking at, pocketing it to show his girlfriend. They always made fun of her friend and his cousin. But neither knew the surprise they were in for that night.

—

Levy grinned at Gajeel from across the table. Smile widening when he pulled something out of his pocket. “My cousin left his old sketchbook at my apartment today, and I stole this from it. It’s the girl he’s been drawing for years. As long as I’ve known he could draw at least.”

He lay the paper out on the table, flattening it. Levy gasped, and her gaze darted to her phone. “No way.” She grabbed the phone and pulled up her gallery, opening a picture she had snapped of an unassuming Lucy when she was grinning at a kid she had just seen. She set it down next to the drawing for Gajeel to see.

“It— They match. How do you know this girl?”

“She’s the friend I always talk about.”


	2. Chapter 2

It turned out, they hadn’t needed to do anything. The day after their date, when they were each going to see their half of the other pair, they ran into both of them. Lucy was blushing in the hallway, Natsu standing there with flowers. They were both dressed up nice for a date they had agreed to the night before, when they had met on the roof of the apartments. It was odd really.

Lucy had gone up there to stargaze, ice on her wrist over the initials. Natsu had gone up to  _draw_ the stars, his sketchbook in hand. He had come up just after Lucy, and she had stood a little ways away from the door. Natsu, didn’t see her, and ran straight into her. She had dropped her ice, and he his sketchbook.

Which, although the sketchbook was brand new, it was already filled with drawings, one of which, her eye caught on as it lay open on the ground. “I’m so sorry, are you okay?”

Lucy looked up in confusion, he hadn’t seemed to realize something, so she responded with confusion. “Why were you drawing me?  _How_ were you drawing me?”

Natsu had looked down at his sketch, then at Lucy. “It’s you. You’re her.” Lucy looked at him confused before her wrist pulled and she pressed her thumb over the spot.

“What do you mean?”

“My soulmate.”

“What?” Lucy looked down at her wrist, and Natsu followed her gaze. He saw the initials and reached out, rubbing his thumb over them, the burning immediately stopped.

“Etherious Natsu Dragneel. My brother named me, because my mother died in childbirth and my father had died in an accident before that. I just go by Natsu though, he was just having fun with my name I guess, not even he called me that.”

“Called?” Natsu looked up at her, his hand still not leaving her skin, like he couldn’t get enough of her. Then he grinned.

“How about I tell you over dinner tomorrow?”

“Are you asking me out on a date?” He nodded. “You don’t even know my name.”

Natsu’s eyes widened. “You’re right!”

“Lucy.”

“Hmm?”

“My name, I’m Lucy.”

“Just Lucy?”

“I’ll tell you my last name over dinner tomorrow.”

He grinned. “Does that mean you’re saying yes to the date?” She nodded, and the two talked for a bit longer before Natsu walked her back to her apartment, making sure to memorize the door number so he could pick her up the next day.

“See you at five Natsu.” The two smiled at each other, and then she closed her door, sliding the lock in place before turning and leaning against it. “I finally found him mom.”

—

Natsu helped Lucy to her seat, and watched as she ordered a dr. Pepper and a water with lemon. He ordered the same to drink, but when it came to food, she ordered a single dish, and he ordered multiple. When he was done ordering, he looked at her, and she was looking at him with an amused smile. It grew when he spoke next.

“Hey, I ain’t gonna hide who I am from you, that’s not fair. You’d expect someone else and end up with who I am. No, it’s better to show you from the start.” She nodded but didn’t say anything, still worried about what his reaction will be to her last name.

“Hey Natsu, will you tell me about your brother now?”

He frowned slightly, but nodded. “He died a few years ago. Suicide, told me he just didn’t feel right without Mavis. Oh, she was his wife, she was killed during a robbery somewhere.”

“You don’t mean Mavis Vermilion do you?” Natsu nodded and Lucy’s eyes widened. “She was a really good friend of mine when I was younger, when I heard the news that she was killed I tried to get to her funeral, but I wasn’t allowed to leave at the time.”

“That’s interesting.” The food showed up, just as that conversation was coming to an end. Natsu then asked her a question. “What’s your last name?”

She looked up shocked, seeing Natsu look at her earnestly. “Heartfilia, Lucy Heartfilia.” Natsu didn’t freak out like she thought he would. He didn’t tell her how awesome it had to be to be that rich, instead, he just nodded.

“I see why you would be just Lucy then.” She nodded, rubbing her thumb aimlessly across where his initials were. Natsu noticed the move, and looked at her in concern. “Are they still hurting you?”

“Huh?” She looked down to see what she was doing before looking back up. “No! No, they don’t burn anymore. It’s just a habit I guess.” Natsu smiled, reaching across the table and taking her hand, linking her fingers with his.

“Let’s make a new habit.” She smiled.

“Yeah.”

—

The two were together nearly every day after that, and Natsu slept at Lucy’s most days. He had a way of getting into her apartment without using the door, and she had caught him using the window once. She had laughed, before telling him that he needed to be more careful, as she had startled him and he had fallen, luckily, forwards onto her bed. By the time a year had passed, the two had  _officially_ moved in together.

Lucy and Natsu both liked to travel, and did lots of it at the beginning of their relationship. After three years of being together Natsu had proposed, and of course Lucy had said yes. She had actually said no, jokingly, and when Natsu started to freak out she bent down and assured him that she was kidding and  _of course I want to marry you Natsu, you stupid idiot._ And he laughed, kissing her quickly.

And that habit, they made many. But the one that she used when she was nervous or afraid, was simply to reach out, and lace her hands with his. There was rarely a moment where they weren’t together and everyone in town adored them. They were truly a match made in heaven, or hell depending on which side of the couple they showed that day.

Some days they were filled with mischief, others they were being adorable and funny together, but no matter what, they each had faith in the other. Lucy and Natsu may have come from different worlds, as he viewed her as an angel while he was a demon, or she viewed him as free and she was trapped, but they knew that together they could do anything. They never really knew why everyone spoke about them, choosing to stay in their own group of friends, or when Lucy’s book was published, simply staying together and greeting her fans.

And when they promised forever to each other, many years after Natsu proposed, because her father had passed and that was just the wrong time to have a wedding, then Levy had a baby — two actually, she had twins, so they were waiting for her to get back on her feet. Then some guy had crashed into their car (luckily while they weren’t in it) and Natsu and him got into a huge fight. Later, he would become the best man at the wedding, even though Natsu and Gray fought  _a lot_. There were a lot of people they met in between the time Natsu had proposed and the time they got married, that the wedding would have felt different without, so they were both glad they did.

But when they did get married, Natsu almost fainted. Not before, because he had no nerves, knowing Lucy was the one and she was his. No, it was right at the end of Lucy’s vows, when she slyly slipped in that she was pregnant. He couldn’t decide if he was excited, or going to have a breakdown, so when it came time to kiss the bride, he kissed her like she was the air he had been looking for. She grinned at him, and he grinned at her, and he decided he couldn’t get happier.

Well, not until her second pregnancy, when she had twins. The eldest, Nashi, had pink hair and brown eyes, she had the same mischievous grin Natsu did, but the same love for books her mother did. The next two, were both blonde. A boy and a girl, Luke and Luna. Luna looked just like Lucy did as a child, and would look just like her mother as she grew up. Luke, on the other hand, had his fathers eyes. As soon as Lucy had said that Luna looked exactly like her, Natsu began to whine, of course, saying he wanted one that looked just like him too. And he got one, the third time she was pregnant, it was a boy, with pink hair and green-onyx eyes, that mischievous smile all the kids had. Nash, that was his name. And the four grew up, hearing stories from their mother, and learning how to have adventures from their father. And together, they were a very  _very_ happy family.


End file.
